Hit
by Gwenneth
Summary: Legolas is wounded at Helm's Deep. A ficlet that didn't happen, but what if it had? This is how it could have taken place. SHORT and COMPLETE.


**_AU: I know this did not happen, but I am just brainstorming what would it have been like if this scenario HAD taken place. This is not beta'd, I wrote it at work while waiting for election tallies to come in! Don't flame me for mistakes please!  
  
AU ... AU Just warning you... :-D  
_**  
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**_Helm's Deep_**

(Movie verse (sorta) in italics)  
  
_Elves. A whole long line of them, marching lockstep through the  
gates of the Deeping Wall. The Rohan guards standing along the path  
watching with eyes wide open, most of them never having seen Elves, or only having seen Legolas. And that was only fleeting glances of the Fellowship member.  
  
"Wow, look at them all!" Commented one young soldier. "Ya think with the Elves on our side we can win this?"  
  
His companion snorted. "No."  
  
Haldir led his troops right up to where Theoden King was descending the stairs, eyes nearly as wide as his mens. "How is this possible?" He asked, still not entirely over the shock of unexpected reinforcements.  
  
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell," Haldir answered, bowing.  
"There was existed an alliance between Elves and Men. Long ago we  
fought, and died, together. We come to honor that allegiance."  
  
Theoden nodded lightly, turning ever so slightly as Aragorn bounded  
down the stairs, followed more slowly by Legolas, then Gimli. The man excitedly greeted the Elf. "Mae govannen!" He said before grasping the Elf in a tight embrace.  
  
Legolas and Haldir exchanged classic Elvish greetings, perhaps a bit of rank getting in the way of a more familiar greeting. But then Legolas stood behind the Lorien Elf as Haldir said resolutely, "We are proud to fight beside Men once more."  
_

* * *

"Legolas, why do you not wear more armor? Those shoulder pads and that bit you wear on your chest are not enough. Do you think yourself immortal and impenetrable?"  
  
Gimli huffed as he once again readjusted his chain mail. Legolas only smiled. "I need no other armor, Gimli. It would only hinder my aim."  
  
The dwarf snorted. "Fine, have it your way. But now I will be forced to watch over you more closely, to prevent your death before its time...or rather...well, you don't have a time do you?"  
  
Legolas laughed. "No, dear Gimli, I do not. But I thank you for your worry, however misplaced it may be." He slung his quiver over his shoulders, effectively putting it in its rightful place.  
  
"Right then, lets go find a good spot on the wall." Gimli, leading the way, was soon outdistanced by the long-legged Elf. He muttered at that. "My luck, you'll pick an Elfy spot."  
  
The Elf laughed lightly, having heard the chide. He intended to do just that.

* * *

"You could have picked a better spot," Gimli grumbled, raising himself up on his tiptoes to try and see over the wall. "I can't see a blasted thing from here. How am I supposed to kill Uruks if I can not see them."  
  
Legolas smiled sweetly. "Well...we could remedy that...I could find you a box to stand on?"  
  
Gimli grunted, then laughed with a snort. "Very funny Elf. And I  
suppose you'd just love to see the Dwarf fighting atop a box. How about tossing me over the wall, would you like to do that too?"  
  
"I thought no one tossed a dward, Gimli."  
  
Aragorn came up behind the two and glanced out over the long lines of approaching Uruks. This battle was not looking to be in their favor. He heard Gimli's underisive response and chuckled. "Thought so."  
  
Legolas looked over at the man. "We have more hope with the Elves of Lorien, Aragorn. We will all fight and die for these Men, even though I despaired earlier."  
  
The man clapped the Elf on the shoulder. "I know that, Legolas. And I thank you for it. I also hope it does not come to that end. But as Theoden said, if we are to die here, we will make such an end as to be worthy of the history books."  
  
Gimli nodded. "Anything we do will go in the history books, Aragorn. For the Fellowship is making history in this attempt to destroy Sauron and his minions."  
  
The other two nodded, watching the black sea approach.

* * *

"Twenty-one, twenty-two..." Gimli slashed with his axe, affectively  
slicing an Uruk head from its neck. He stole a quick glance at Legolas, grunting as the Elf sent two arrows flying into two orcs. 'Not fair...' he thought to himself.  
  
He was about to turn away when he saw a look of pain cross the Elf's face. 'Maybe I'm dreaming,' Gimli thought. But no...he was pretty certain he had seen that look. It was something he had never seen on the Elf.  
  
He decided to fight his way over there and find out for certain.  
  
Legolas, meanwhile, was reeling from the shock of the arrow in his back. It had not penetrated so deep as to rupture its intended target, his heart, but it was bad enough as it were.  
  
He tried to block out the pain, but it was increasingly difficult in the sea of Uruks that were attacking him on the wall of the Deep. He could hear Gimli counting and smiled wanely, despite the pain. He had lost count.  
  
Grimacing as an Orc sword nearly found it's mark in his chest, Legolas jumped backward, colliding with another Elf, effectively pushing his arrow in deeper and eliciting a screech of pain from the Elf.  
  
"Wha..."  
  
Haldir turned around to see who had hit him. He saw a flash of blonde hair and the black fletchings of an arrow in the back of an Elf. He gasped in surprise, watching the Elf continue to fight, though slower then an Elf was wont to do.  
  
His moment of hesitation cost him and he felt an Uruk blade slice into him. Then...as he looked around in confusion and pain, he felt the searing pain of another blade pierce his body. He locked eyes with the approaching Aragorn.  
  
And then he knew no more.  
  
Gimli had reached Legolas now and he was momentarily satisfied the Elf's pain had been in his imagination. Until Legolas turned around and Gimli was greeted with a blood-soaked tunic and black arrow.  
  
"Legolas!" He screeched in awe, unbelieving that the Elf was still fighting. Aragorn heard the call from where he had just mowed down an Uruk in his anger at Haldirs death.  
  
He too saw the Elf's wound. "Legolas! _Mellon nin_!"  
  
The Elf looked up, his eyes full of pain and fury. He wobbled, but held his ground, thankful that there was a lull in the fighting. Then, they heard the fervored repeat of the order to retreat to the Hornburg.  
  
Aragorn grabbed Legolas and pulled him toward the interior of the Deep. He called to Gimli to follow.

* * *

The scent of death flowed through the chamber that the Rohan had selected as their healing ward. Aragorn dragged a protesting Legolas into the chamber, drawing the stares of others in there.  
  
Soon, all the Rohan in the room were staring at the Elf. There were relatively few Elves in here, they had taken grievous casulties in the charge after the Deeping Wall had been breached.  
  
So naturally, the presence of Legolas drew stares.  
  
"Sit still, Legolas. This arrow goes deep, it needs to be removed!" Aragorn was battling to keep the Elf down.  
  
"Just pull it out and be done with it, Aragorn. We must not leave the people to fight alone. We are here for a reason, we are here to see that Rohan does not fall!"  
  
He grunted and cried out when Aragorn did as he asked and pulled the arrow from his flesh. Gimli winced, seeing a look of intense pain on the Elf's face. That was a look he wouldn't soon forget.  
  
Aragorn wasted no time in applying pressure to the wound, pushing Legolas forward. The Elf took a shaky breath, but did not cry out again. It hurt, yes there was no doubt there, but he had taken injury before.  
  
He looked around at the men in the chamber, eyes full of pain but also remorse. He hated to see Men, whose lives were already shorten by the Fate of Men, dying before their time.  
  
It saddened the immortal to know that many of these injured would not see the light of the new day. He cringed as his body began to shake with shock.  
  
Aragorn frowned. That wasn't good. "Legolas, I think you ought to remain here while I go with Gimli and find the King. You are no good to us injured thus."  
  
Legolas was about to argue, but knew it was useless. "Yes, Aragorn, you are right. Go quickly."  
  
He watched as they left, then called to the nearest healer. "Could you bind this tightly? I will not remain here while Elves and Men die."  
  
The healer blinked. "But, you just...you said...he thinks..."  
  
Legolas smiled, laying a hand on the healer's shoulder. "He thinks what he must to allow him to fight without worry. I will not remain here. You can aide me or I can go with it bleeding."  
  
The healer nodded, doing as the prince asked. Then Legolas rose, albeit stiffly, and left. Eyes followed his progress, some shaking heads in confusion. _Why was he doing it?_

__

* * *

Aragorn almost exploded when he realized it was Legolas helping barricade the throne room doors, he was about to blow his fuse at the Elf, but instead he knew he had to rally Theoden. The Elf he'd deal with later.  
  
When the rode out to meet the Uruks, fully expecting to meet their downfall, Aragorn watched Legolas like a hawk. He was surprised to see the Elf fighting relatively well. He couldn't believe that the Elf was not in pain.  
  
'He probably is...' He thought to himself. Then, Gandalf and Eomer arrived and he forgot about the Elf for a moment in the heat of victory.

* * *

The trees...they were moving. The shrieks of Orcs and Uruk's meeting a gruesome death reached the ears of the warriors and their leaders. None saw immediately as the blonde-haired Elf fell from his horse.

* * *

"Legolas, can you hear me?"  
  
Gandalf had redressed and taken care of Legolas' arrow wound, using a bit of herbal medicine from ages ago that only the wizard, and perhaps Elrond, still knew about.  
  
"Ugh, I feel as though I was trampled by a herd of oliphaunts," Legolas muttered, rubbing at his eyes, surprised by the painful pull in his back.  
  
He was laying on a soft bed, on his painful back, but it wasn't too much to deal with. Aragorn and Gimli were both dozing in chairs beside him. He smiled at that.  
  
"You are lucky and foolish, young Elf." Gandalf smiled at the Prince. "You should not have fought with the injury, but I am sure you would not have been able to live with yourself if you had not. And Elves have long lives and long memories."  
  
Legolas nodded, but remained speechless. Yes, he would have regretted it. And he would have had to live forever with that regret.  
  
"I am well, Gandalf. More well then you can know. Though I am in pain, my heart is clear and my conscious clean. I will rest well now."  
  
And with that, he let his eyes glaze over in the sleep of the Elves.  
  
He'd live to fight another day.  
  
THE END

* * *

**_That was just a bit of mindless drabble I felt like writing at work...and then sharing with all you people. Don't ask me why. If you liked...lemme know...if you didn't...sighsLemme know that too I guess! Thanks for reading...write you later!  
  
-Gwenneth_**


End file.
